When the Walls Break down
by anyabar1987
Summary: Reuploaded JJ has a secret. JJ goes on vacation and the team gets called to investigate a murder and end up unraveling JJ's secret at the same time that they solve the murder.
1. Chapter 1

Criminal minds x higher ground

_Note: in this story higher ground covered the school year ending in 1999. Criminal minds started in 2005 and this takes place mid way season 3 before JJ announces that she is pregnant although this has been made into being late may early June coinciding with the end of the school year at horizon/ start of summer program._

JJ swept across the room as she picked up reports from various desks with a smile on her face.

Spencer watched from across the room and asked Emily, "Does JJ seem happier than usual?"

"Just a little bit, has she said anything about anything special happening?" Emily joined in the JJ watching.

"Not to my knowledge but you never know with her." Spencer said as he looked towards the offices.

JJ walked up towards them as she shifted the reports. "You can't hide that I just saw you watching me."

"You have an air about you today, your mood it is very contagious." Spencer stuttered.

"I found out last night that starting tonight I am on vacation. I originally wasn't going to be able to get this week off but they found a mistake in the paper trail and realized they can spare me for the next week."

"You never said anything about this week, is it important?" Emily said looking after JJ.

"Not really, no, just an old anniversary and my family has access to an exclusive timeshare." JJ shrugged, "but I might not go, all depends on what I decide to do with my vacation."

Morgan looked around the room, "Where is JJ?"

"Uhh, she told me yesterday that she was going on vacation, it was a last minute thing because of paperwork getting mixed up." Spencer reported.

Rossi responded, "How come she didn't tell us?"

"I don't know, I think we only found out because the two of us confronted her yesterday." Emily frowned.

Hotch opened a folder, "This came across my desk this morning. Last month a backpacker up in Agnes Washington stumbled across this." Hotch held up a picture of a sturdy lean-to made entirely of tree branches. "Knowing that this area was little used by the locals the backpacker looked around, stating that he was very impressed with the structure. Inside the lean-to were seven bodies of varying decomposition. The local authorities believe that the most recent was at least a year old."

Emily winced at the pictures of each of the bodies, "this has been known about for almost a month and it is just reaching your desk?"

"The local authorities were treating this as a cold case with no leads until two nights ago a patrol found this on the other end of the trail." Hotch held up another picture. "No details were released about the dump site so it is believed that this is not a copycat. Inside left exactly as the other seven were was an eighth body. She had been dead for less than forty eight hours."

"How come locals don't use that part of the woods? Aren't all woods the same?" Morgan asked.

"Not exactly, prime locations for recreational use by locals would be determined by access to hiking trails and prime sporting locations such as rivers and lakes or areas rich in wildlife for hunting." Spencer announced.

"This area is cut off from rivers and hiking trails by the one main road that runs through the area making it difficult to get to any. It is also in the vicinity of a couple schools making it illegal to discharge a firearm." Hotch explained, "To the south of this vicinity is Laurence Hastings Prep and to the North is Mount Horizon wilderness therapy school."

The fax came to life and spit out a paper, Hotch picked it up, "Alright, they have gotten a positive ID on the recent body. She was a prostitute known for her gothic style from Seattle Washington. She was last seen a week ago talking to a man in his mid-twenties. No one was able to come forward with a positive description.

Emily looked at the picture that had come through, "She was stripped of all her piercings and was left there in a flannel shirt and jeans. She looks like she was going for a hike."

Garcia came up on the monitor, "They have confirmed based on the rate of decomposition that the bodies are all at least one year apart from each other."

"lets get to Agnes Washington then." Emily nodded

Hotch set the file down, "wheels up in thirty minutes then."


	2. Chapter 2

The team disembarked from the jet to be greated by the towns Police Chief, "Welcome to Agnes, never thought I would be welcoming the FBi to my little corner of the earth." The man greated, "I am Sheriff Curtis Swan by the way."

Hotch introduced the team, "I am SSA Aaron Hotchner, and these are SSA David Rossi, SSA Emily Prentiss, SSA Derek Morgan and SSA Dr. Spencer Reid.

Morgan eyed the man quickly before looking around, "You wouldn't happen to have a daughter who dates Vampires would you?"

"No, I would be rich for each time I have heard that one, although I do have a step daughter Gracie, who hates the Twilight books with a passion." Sheriff Swan laughed

"I am very supportive of that outlook. A few members of the team have made me read those books and I feel that they are very shallow and poorly written. Basically an ape is capable of writing better than that. The only thing the author had going for her was the concept of forbidden love." Reid answered

Sheriff Swan nodded and changed the subject eager to get away from the Twilight talk, "Now how about I get you folks to the Inn? I hope you don't mind but I had my Deputy's move all the files to a room in the Inn I run with my wife, I just don't have the room at our closet of a police station to accommodate your team as well as my guys."

"I am sure everything will be fine, do we have access to your network there though?" Hotch asked the Sheriff.

"No, but not because of being at the inn, purely because Agnes is still stuck in the paper age, we don't have the income or the crime rate to necessitate an electronic system." Sheriff Swan replied.

"Well at the very least we are going to need an internet connection so we can connect to Washington D.C." Morgan informed

"As soon as we get back I will see about getting your room linked with the network in our house, it isn't fast but it is steady and reliable, important thing is it isn't dial up, which we had till just last year." Sheriff Swan nodded as he showed them the way to his waiting SUV. "Sorry for the tight fit but it seats six passengers, while also being good on the backroads, when we get back to town one my deputies will be on hand with his cruiser if you need to go in two directions."

"That will be helpful, do you think you could take us to the dump sites?" Hotch asked the chief.

"Of course, let's just get back into town, it is quite a hike out there so we will need to get some supplies before going out there." Sheriff Swan replied as he closed up the doors to the SUV before getting behind the wheel.

"So what are your observations of this dump site?" Prentiss asked the Sheriff.

"He had to know what he was doing. The killer I mean, not many people venture out on the trails he chose and he was familiar with building a sturdy lean-to as well as he for some twisted reason used a portable bear cage that he built the lean-to around." The Sheriff described everything from the dump site.

"The Unsub wanted to make sure his victims were safe while also protected from the elements." Morgan replied.

"Are you familiar with the Lean-to's that he uses?" Rossi asked

"Well as a guy who lives up here in the mountains, I come across many different styles and some are more effective than others. This maniac uses a style very similar to the horizon lean-to. I have watched some of their lean-to building competitions that they have on occasion." Sheriff Swan answered

"Have you looked at anyone at this Horizon as being our unsub?" Hotch asked.

"I have actually been hoping it was a coincidence. I was looking for any reason why I shouldn't have to restrict Gracie from going up to spend the Summer there. She chooses nearly every summer to go and join in on the summer program in some shape or form up there. She has had a passion for working with these kids even though most are older than her ever since she was five and had to be rescued by a couple of the students." Sheriff Swan sighed, "I have never before known a six year old who knew exactly what she wanted to do upon growing up and now she is fifteen and that passion is stronger than ever."

"Is your daughter there now?" Prentiss asked concerned

"Next week is when their summer program starts, this is the first year she was going to stay in the cabins with the students. Up till now she has stayed with Sophie and Peter the directors of the school." Sheriff Swan answered before asking, "Do you really think there could be a connection?"

"You say that it is a school for troubled kids, it is possible, but we will need to see any information you have on these students." Hotch answered.

"I have a few files on different kids from Horizon, usually for petty things, I have one on Home invasion and Property destruction but the others are all lesser crimes than that. I have asked before from stuff from Peter but all he has is observation notes and confessions on most of his older students. When a student ages out at eighteen or graduates shortly thereafter their files leave with them because where any that came to him through the court system were tried as minors, which is what landed them there." Sheriff Swan shook his head.

"So the files are all sealed." Rossi shook his head

"And I have not had probable causes to be able to get the court order to get any of them unsealed." Sheriff Swan sighed.

"Alright, when we get to town, Reid and Prentiss, I want you to go up to Horizon and see if you can get a list of all the students that have gone through Horizon since it opened. Get the list to Garcia and see if she can find the students who have a criminal record. We should be able to go from there to get into their juvenile records." Hotch ordered


	3. Chapter 3

Once in town Curtis showed them to the Inn and the room in which all the files had been moved to as well as five rooms that had been set aside for them to stay in. "And for your dining pleasures, my wife runs the restaurant that is attached to our house and she has said you may eat on the house whenever you please. She is grateful that you have come to help us with this case."

"Thank you, is there anyone available who can take Reid and Prentiss to Horizon while you take the rest of the team and I to the dump site?" Hotch asked as he set his bags down in the room that was set to be their base of operations.

"Of Course, Hank can drop you off on his way to check in on one of our usual haunts." Curtis explained as he gestured to a uniformed deputy who was heading to his car.

In the car Prentiss looked at Hank, "So what did the Sheriff mean when he said you were going to check a usual haunt?"

"I am going to check for signs of poaching. There is an area up river where we have caught quite a few illegal hunts going on. The joys of being a Police Deputy and a tracker is that I get to follow quite a few hunters who think they are being discreet." Hank sighed, "I have been with this department for over ten years now and the only reason I haven't moved on is because my wife Kat loves Horizon too much to leave."

"Your wife is a staff member there?" Reid asked

"She is now but when we first started dating she was a very hurt seventeen year old, she was a student at Horizon." Hank responded

"Is there any way we can ask her a few questions?" Prentiss asked

"Not unless you want to either wait till Saturday or hike up into the mountains to find her. She took a group of older students up to Dog's Peak so that one of them can realize their own dream of planting a flag up there. It is the ultimate dream of all students at Horizon, to plant a flag I mean." Hank sighed, "Kat couldn't stop talking about it when she came back from her hike up there and how much it meant to her."

Hotch, Morgan and Rossi hiked behind Curtis as they climbed there way along a trail that could hardly be called that. They had been hiking for nearly an hour when they crested over a small hill and saw the site.

"We opened up the cage and removed the remains however we kept the lean-to and cage in place just in case we needed to look through it for more evidence. We didn't tape off the area because it is so isolated out here however some of the trackers that work for my department have been bringing their scent dogs out here to make sure people aren't just wandering around the site. Last week the dogs caught a new scent that had walked around the campsite and the trackers found tread from two sets of boots. The dogs followed the scent and at the other end of this trail which doesn't get any easier by the way was a fresh body."

"So our Unsub came back to his dump site with a new victim to find it violated so he took his victim who was still alive and then killed her further up the trail?" Rossi asked.

"It looked like they might have come in that way. But it isn't really a hike a bunch of green horns should be attempting. We can drive up to the other end of the trail and I can take you up the trail from that end a bit but even I don't feel comfortable hiking the trail from here to there, not without lots of rope and an experienced guide." Curtis shook his head.

"While we would really like to hike the entire trail we will adhere to your warnings, are you sure that we can experience what most of this hike was like from that end?" Hotch asked

"Oh yes, in order to get to the most recent dumpsite we will have to climb down a ten foot rock face and from there the elements get more challenging." Curtis nodded

Rossi nodded, "So the unsub would have to be physically fit and have lots of experience in the woods to even try and drag a prostitute out here."

"Most definitely, I have quite a bit of experience and I am not even comfortable taking you guys on this trail." Curtis said shaking his head as they got ready to return to the SUV back an hour through the woods.

Prentiss and Reid stood up as a well-built dark haired man walked in and set down his back pack. "Sorry I was so long, I was out on a short day hike as part of the Noinuer that is going on this week. Sophie radioed me that I had visitors but we were already on our way back. I am Peter Scarbrow by the way."

"SSA Emily Prentiss and this is SSA Dr. Spencer Reid. We are from the FBI's Behavioral Analysis Unit, can we talk to you in private?" Prentiss asked Peter.

"Of course, my office is just back this way." Peter nodded and lead them to his office.

Just as they were getting into the Office Sophie came running in, "The Sun Dogs just radioed in, Dustin just had an asthma attack and his inhaler is low."

Peter kept his composure, "It is alright, Sophie have Scott and Shelby take the replacement up to them. Those two have some unanswered tensions and they work well together on the trail. The two of them should also be able to evaluate whether Dustin needs to come back to the school or not."

"Are you sure given their past?" Sophie asked

"Sophie they are adults and they can do as they please but they would be the best pick." Peter nodded as Sophie left to go ask the given people.

"What is a Noinuer?" Reid asked Peter.

"It is an event that was dreamed up by Kat, one of my councilors. She was a student here and when she was a senior she came up with the idea that everyone is too screwed up for a prom so they planned a Morp which was a backwards prom. After she graduated she came to me and asked that we do something similar with a reunion only she called it a Noinuer, anyone who graduated or left the program on a good note is invited to spend this week every year here at Horizon while all the students are on week long expeditions giving the teachers and myself time to reset the school for summer program. The former students help out with the restructuring as well." Peter described, "So what can I do for you?"

"We need to email a list of all your students to our tech analyst back at Quantico. We have probably reason to believe that someone who came through your school has been murdering women and leaving them in the woods here in Agnes." Prentiss informed the man

"Alright, I can give you my records of students and some of my notes on the students from their therapies but as you have probably been told when a student leaves here so does their juvenile record. But from the information given to me it is highly unlikely that any of my current students that I have now would be the killers, I mean the oldest student would only have been nine or ten when it started." Peter nodded as he turned his computer around. "I have it all here on my computer along with current address' for nearly every student, even the students who were kicked out for not being a good fit in my program I keep in touch with in some shape or form if they want it. Some I don't have contact with but I keep my eye out for them."

At the top of the list was a name with no known contact information, "Shelby Merrick, you said there was a Shelby here but you have no information on her, unless you have more than one Shelby." Reid asked

Prentiss copied the file to an email which she sent straight to Garcia to run background checks on all the names.

"I actually don't, however Shelby stays in touch via her younger sister Jess Merrick and she shows up every year. Shelby has always been a closed book, even after everything that happened in her life she never opened up completely, I learned more about Shelby from her sister than I ever did from her." Peter nodded

"Do you often get sibling pairs up here?" Prentiss asked again

"No, not really but Jess begged me to help her, just as I had helped Shelby. Jess wanted out of her abusive life and she didn't want to go down the same road her sister had gone. Jess was officially the youngest student I had taken on, Jess hadn't even started the ninth grade and I had to get special permissions for her to be here that summer." Peter described

"Can you tell us what went on in those girls' lives? It seems like you know?" Reid asked

"I am sorry, but you will have to ask Shelby that, she is an adult and is officially not my student any more. I am bound by law not to tell you any specifics but I will tell you to tread carefully. Abuse is a very frequent variable among my students." Peter nodded

"Could we talk to this Jess?" Prentiss asked.

"If you want to travel to Bangkok, Thailand you can. Jess is on a mission's trip working with an agency that removes children from the sex trade." Peter shook his head, "I will tell you I have had a few students go onto really amazing things. I don't like going behind my former students' backs however if the two of you would like to spend the night here at the school and talk with them in a less threatening manner they might be willing to open up to you."

"Thank you, we will need to talk to our boss but if it is alright we will be back in a few hours." Prentiss nodded as she went to the door.

"If you need a ride into town, I can give it to you." Peter stood up nodding, "I need to get something from the store."


	4. Chapter 4

Reid and Prentiss walked into the command base where Hotch was talking to Garcia over the phone. "You can probably exempt from the search any students who attended the school for less than six months. Sheriff Swan believes if our Unsub was a student at Horizon then they would have had to be at Horizon longer than that to gain the skills in order to hike a trail like that."

"Got it; that only kicks about three students off the list. Horizon doesn't find many students a bad fit to the program evidently." Garcia responded over the phone. "I am obviously removing former students who have died from the list."

"Any students died from causes at the school?" Morgan asked

"No, babycakes. There have been five students who have died four died in various accidents unrelated to anything that happened at Horizon and the other died of an over dose related to an addiction that got him admitted to Horizon, he was there only two days when his parents removed him following an overdose to drugs that he had smuggled into the school." Garcia answered over the phone

"So most of the kids who have been successful in the program have kept their noses clean?" Rossi asked

"It seems that way no one has come back flagged as a psycho killer. I will get back to you as I sort through what information I do have." Garcia said as she tapped away at her keyboard… "oo this isn't good!"

"what isn't very good?" Reid asked

"Scott Barringer was accused four years ago with stalking a woman obsessively. The person in question didn't press charges so they were dropped however the person in question was our very own JJ!" Garcia gulped

Morgan was already on the phone trying to get a hold of JJ. After a minute of listening he hung up the phone, "Her phone is off and goes right to voice mail. She even went so far as changing her message to say she wouldn't be checking her phone for the rest of the week."

"Maybe Reid or I can talk to this Scott and see what we can find out." Prentiss nodded, "we have been invited to spend the night at Horizon and to our luck there is a good deal of former students at the school for a reunion type event this week."

"Alright see what you two can dig up and keep us updated on anything you might find out." Hotch nodded


	5. Chapter 5

At the school Peter took the two of them into the admittance room. "I decided to run your stay here just like as if you were admitting to be students. I even make everyone who comes to visit go through this process because it is a big admittance for them to have to revisit their very first moments at Horizon as well as the idea of being stripped of their cellphones and MP3 players, anything that is barring them from really experiencing life."

"So what does that mean for us?" Prentiss asked Peter.

"I will check through your belongings, just to make sure you aren't carrying anything that I don't allow anyone to have at my school. I also ask that you keep your cellphones and any other electronics you have as well as your badges in my office. I don't want anyone to feel threatened here." Peter said as he sorted through Reid's go bag and flipped through a book that was in the bag before doing the same for Prentiss'. He then handed the two of them each a plaid shirt, "this will help you blend in, while it isn't required it is a school essential around here and most former students wear them while here as it reminds them of the old days."

Peter took them out of the room after handing their bags back to them. He walked around to the lodge where he found Daisy scrubbing dishes, "Hey Daisy, do you think you could show Emily around? She is one of the people I was telling you about that have come to interview some former students. I am going to have her stay in the Cliffhanger dorm with all of you seeing as you have an extra bed."

Daisy rolled her eyes but set down the scrub brush and her rubber gloves before showing Prentiss to the girls dorm.

Inside the dorm Prentiss looked around at the girls who aged from their early twenties to the mid-thirties. "You can put your bag on that bed right there." Daisy said pointing to the first bed on the left.

Prentiss set her bag down on the made bed and looked at the girls who sat on most of the beds talking amongst themselves.

Daisy introduced each of them, "On the end is Scarlett class of '96 and across from her is Jules class of '01. Next to Jules is my bed and I am from the class of '00 and across from me is Elizabeth class of '05. Next to Elizabeth is Macy who is from the class of '94 and across from her is Shelby's bed, Shelby is out on the trail tonight but she is also from the class of '00. Next to Shelby's bed is Andrea who is from the class of '98 and then of course your bed."

Jules rolled over and smiled before jumping up and excitedly introduced herself, "So as Daisy said I am Jules, don't listen to the others but they all say I am the drama queen and that I am too happy for my own good. Hey wait Daisy didn't introduce you to us."

"I am Emily and I have come to interview former students about the school." Emily said not completely lying. She did need to interview the students but not about the school, she needed to get in their heads and find out who could be the murderer.

Reid had been pawned off to a guy named Ezra who took him to the cliffhanger boys' dorm. Inside an identical cabin to the one Emily had been shown he was introduced to five other guys of varying ages which included this short but stocky Hispanic boy to start going up one side with insults.

"Yo, Meat, you hear to ask us some questions? You sure you can handle us former bad kids?" the Hispanic man said as he turned and laughed

Ezra patted Spencer's back, "don't mind Auggie here has a worse bark then he does bite." He then pointed to each man and said their name,"Auggie, Henry,Ben, George, Louis, this is Spencer, the reporter or journalist or whatever that good old Peter told us was coming to interview us. Oh and hopefully tomorrow you will get to meet Scott but he went out on the trail with Shelby for the night."

"So uhh what are the plans for this evening?" Reid asked as he looked around.

Most of the guys backed away shaking their heads but Auggie and Ezra grinned and took Reid by the shoulders, "We are going to find the girls."

Outside the cabin in the common they met up with Daisy and Jules who were pulling Prentiss toward the lodge.

Daisy linked arms with Ezra and smiled slyly as Jules did so with Auggie and looked at the two agents. "So Peter told us you were coming to learn about the school and what kind of students come here. We decided to show you the best way we know about life at Horizon and that is through new kid orientation." Ezra said taking the lead on all of it.

Prentiss looked at Reid, "why do I think this isn't your typical summer camp?"

"Because the kids who come here all have some sort of history with some form of abuse?" Reid looked back.

"You are going to start the evening off with Kitchens," Daisy smiled, "you might want to report to the cook, they are expecting you."

Peter walked in and tilted his head as he saw the two FBI agents serving the food to all the hungry guests at Horizon who were eager for the food they used to complain day after day about. "Are you two enjoying yourselves?"

"Why didn't you tell us that we would be working?" Prentiss sighed as she scooped up a serving of mashed potatoes.

"I didn't honestly know what the former Cliffhangers would do. They have always been some of my more resourceful groups and they tend to give people a hard time at first but give them a few hours and they will make you one of them." Peter laughed, "Oh by the way after you finish up in there I have called a group for the Cliffhangers and I encourage you to participate if you want them to tell you what you want to hear."


	6. Chapter 6

Prentiss and Reid walked into the lounge to see twelve faces turn to face them.

"Welcome to the group Emily and Spencer," Peter announced being informal with them just as they had been instructed to be with the former students. "Tonight the group is going to be simple, we are going to pass the stick and tell as much or little as you want about what landed you here in the first place and what is helping you today. Emily and Spencer, please share something about your childhoods that may have been less than ideal for you."

I will go first, "My name is Peter Scarbrow and I first came to Horizon because I was looking for hope in my newly discovered drug free life, and I found it here in the former owners who taught me to live again."

"My name is Juliette Waybourne and I came here because I sold laxitives to my class and abused myself through Bulimia and self-injurious behaviors. I still struggle with my Bulimia and I probably always will but Auggie keeps me feeling safe so I don't cut anymore." Jules smiled as she passed the stick

Ezra took the stick next, "I am Ezra and basically my whole life was a screw up. My parents adopted me to try and repair their broken marriage but it didn't work so to drown out the fights I turned to drugs. It takes a lot of strength but each day that Daisy keeps me busy is a day that I no longer think about those evil substances that once ruined my life."

Reid wound up with the stick next, "I am Spencer Reid and I grew up with just my mother who has Schizophrenia, sometimes if she forgot to take her meds she would forget to make me dinner or pack my lunch. It helped me learn to care for myself each day but I worry all the time that one day I may develop her illness."

The stick passed through a few more hands who gave vague answers before landing in Auggie's hands, "I was sent here when I was caught during a gang raid in my barrio. I was given a choice of juvenile hall or here. My parents pleaded for me to come here knowing my life would have a better shot than if I rotted in Juvenile hall. It was here that I discovered I have Dyslexia and Jules helped me to learn to read. To date I am the first Ciceros to have attended some form of college and I couldn't have done it without my best friend helping along the way when the words were too tough to read."

Prentiss was handed the stick and she stared at it for a moment, "I am Emily and I was the daughter of a diplomat and I moved all around, sometimes two to three times in a year, it made making friends very difficult but working with Spencer and my good friend and confidante JJI have made the friends I never thought I would have."

Daisy took the stick from Prentiss, "I am Daisy and I came here after a tried to kill my Dad with a golf club but stopped because I didn't think I could cry for the Police. When I came here I was enthused with death and worshiped the God's of death and darkness but through Horizon I have found that there is more to life then all that morbid junk so Ezra and I have been working on how to council families that have been broken apart by abuse and teach them the options available to them."

"Alright, I like how some of you still trust enough to share exactly what has gone on in your lives and the others of you I know it can be rough explaining it to new people as well as people who came from different years. I hope that through this week you will open up to each other and realize that anyone can be your support when you need a strong arm. I know many of you know I am always here when you just need to climb the mountain to scream your troubles." Peter said standing up, "group is dismissed."

"Are you two coming outside with us?" Jules asked as she stood up with the group.

"We have to talk to Peter for a little we will be along later." Prentiss said dragging Reid away from the rest of them.

"Don't forget that five AM comes very fast in the morning." Auggie called out to them as they walked towards the admin building following Peter.

After they were in Peter's office Reid rolled his eyes, "I was assaulted as soon I walked in the doors to the cabin this afternoon by the one they call Auggie."

"They certainly are a very interesting group of people and I am not surprised that the four that took you under their wings did, they were the group I had that were the closest as you can tell by their pairing off."

"We are just going to send a message to the rest of our team and then we are going to head back to the cabins. They apparently have something planned for us tomorrow. They told us five AM comes early so I assume…" Prentiss sighed

"Don't assume, we start the day around here about that time anyways, we don't waste daylight." Peter laughed.

Emily dialed Hotch's number on her cellphone and waited while it rang. It ended up going to voice mail so she left a message, "Hotch we got the chance to hear a few of the kids stories and other than one girl named Daisy who graduated from the school in two thousand no one has an over obsession with death although there are a few with a history of overusing drugs. I will be shutting my phone off as Reid and I are not allowed to actually have the phones inside the school but we will check for messages at some point in the morning."

Reid nodded and then followed Prentiss back out to the commons and they were just about to head to the cabins that they had been assigned when Ezra called out to them, "do you two want to come hang out with us for a little while?"

"Sure," Prentiss nodded as she came over at sat around the fire pit.

Jules started to fill them in, "Daisy was just telling us how she and Ezra got here a few days early and Kat told them about these murders that have been happening up in the woods. It was creepy and everything, apparently who ever is behind it built lean-to's in the fashion that Peter has taught us to build."

"Excuse me but who is Kat?" Reid said playing coy

"Oh Kat was a classmate of ours, she graduated in the class of '99. But she lives and works here at Horizon which is why she isn't with us." Ezra explained, "Kat said Hank let her see one of the bodies being the deputies wife and all but she said that even though the body was a year old it reminded her of Daisy and Jules."

Daisy tilted her head and glared at her husband, "You mean that the person had been dressed in dark clothes and the clothing size was like negative five."

"Hey, even at my worst I never wore that small of clothing and I will proudly tell you that I now wear a size four." Jules protested.

Auggie looked around, "You know I heard the other day that they found another body and that they were calling in the feds."

Prentiss leaned in and spoke in disbelieving awe, "really, they were going to call the feds?"

Reid looked at her but then started to play along, "why would they call in the feds?"

"You our new friends have much to learn in the art of telling of lores and legends." Daisy said shaking her head. "I heard the new body was that of a gothic prostitute."

Auggie shivered, "EWW, it sounds like David!"

Everyone laughed except for Prentiss and Reid.

"Who is David?" Reid asked clueless

"David was this flunky student who made two trips through here. His dad was some military tough guy and made his life miserable but David was a creep even without his Dad's help. David had this unhealthy obsession for Daisy and went so far as making the other girls at the school feel uncomfortable. He was here only a couple of days before his dad pulled him, but his mom brought him back a few months later because even she couldn't handle him. He got himself kicked out when he was found out sneaking drugs into the school and giving it to students" Auggie announced, "he was here that time about two months."

Prentiss was about to ask another question when Daisy stood up and announced it was time they start getting ready for bed.


	7. Chapter 7

Broken Wall

Prentiss was laughing at the fact that Reid was chopping wood when she saw two people enter the commons and head towards the lodge. One was male with short curly blond hair and the other was a female with long blonde hair that was tied back into the pony tail. She had just finished cleaning all the bathrooms in the lodge as well as cleaning the girls cabin so she had been sitting there waiting for Reid to finish his chore.

The woman stopped and looked at Prentiss like a dear in the headlights before running into the lodge after the guy. She had guessed before that they must be the infamous Scott and Shelby but after staring into the woman's eyes she knew she had been staring at JJ.

"Hey Spencer?" Prentiss said getting his attention.

Reid looked up to her, "is everything alright Emily?"

"I think we should head back to town." Prentiss sighed, "I will explain on the way to Peter's office.

In the office Prentiss packed up everything that they had had to keep in the office as someone walked in the door and pointed at them. "What the Hell are you doing here?"

Reid stopped short and looked at the face he didn't thing he would see, "J…J…"

"We were invited to Agnes yesterday morning to investigate a serial murder. Hotch had the two of us follow some leads and we ended up getting invited to spend the night here." Prentiss shrugged, "we thought you were at some exclusive time share?"

"No… I had asked for this week off so I could come and rest myself and not have to hide my dark past of child abuse." JJ shook her head

"You mean you… are… Shelby Merrick?" Reid asked in awe

"Yes and now that you know my secret, how much did you get out of the others or profile them?" JJ asked crossing her arms

"They told us their pasts and what landed them here." Prentiss defended

"Do they know that you are FBI?" JJ asked

"No, Peter said we didn't need to tell them just that we were coming here to ask some questions." Reid answered his angry friend.

"They are going to hate me when they find out. A lot of people hate the authorities around here and they are going to hate that I am one of you." JJ shook her head

Peter walked in and looked at the heated argument, "I see you met Shelby already."

Prentiss shook her head, "Oh we have met already; I just thought I knew you JJ! Wait till Hotch hears this!"

Peter nodded, "Sophie is waiting to take you two back to town."

After they left Shelby fell back into the chair and started crying.

Peter stood there not knowing how to comfort the woman before him now so he just reminded her of the lessons he had taught her, "I warned you long ago that when you hide your problems after a while they always bite you. Evidently you didn't listen even though you made so much progress here that you still hid it. I would recommend going with them so that you can tell them your side of the story."

Shelby looked at peter who threw her a set of keys and then at the door before nodding and racing to the parking lot where she nodded to Sophie who went back inside, "I assume you guys are staying at the Inn?"

"How would you know and why would you care, you couldn't trust us enough to tell us about Horizon?" Prentiss announced

"It isn't like that Em, really it isn't. Please, let me take you into town and I will explain everything to you." JJ said as she unlocked the car she had rented from the airport.

Walking into the base of operations Hotch and Rossi looked up, "You two are back early."

"Yeah well the cat sort of dragged something in this morning and we decided to come back." Reid announced

Prentiss added, "And it came back with us."

JJ walked in the front door and looked unsurprised at the startled looks in front of her.

Morgan looked at JJ, "Dear lord you look like you need a shower and a beauty rest Jayj."

"Well camping on the side of a mountain will do that to you." JJ sighed as she sat down.

"JJ I was told you were on vacation and none of us could get a hold of you." Hotch asked

"I am on vacation but when I come in from a hiking trip to find Reid chopping wood it makes for a very bad start to an already busy morning. As Emily and Spenc probably saw Horizon isn't about sitting around and letting yourself sink into depression, it taxes you mentally and physically and makes you learn new skills to cover up and lessen the destructive behaviors that come from abuse." JJ explained

Morgan leaned forward, "Abuse? You don't mean you were… do you?"

"I hid it well for so long, you never would have found out if you hadn't come to my backyard." JJ replied sadly, "It always made me uncomfortable because people used to look at me different when they found out how I spent my teenaged years. The only reason why I am where I am today is because I got Peter to let me play soccer for Lawrence Hastings the rival school my senior year and a scout gave me a scholarship. Normally Peter wasn't one for competitive sports but it was something I was really good at so in order to try and let me stretch my wings he made a deal with the head master that if I could keep my grades up I could play for them."

"So that explains how you got from Horizon to the rest of your life but how did you get to Horizon in the first place? I was told most of the kids are victims of abuse." Reid announced.

"And you knew I was Shelby and Peter often references me because I was historically his toughest case. I was sexually abused my whole life by my step father, it started off as little things before he even married my mom but after he told me he was going to teach me how daddy's were supposed to treat their little girls and he would sleep with me at night. My mother was in denial my entire childhood and every time he would tell me that if I told he would hurt Jess. I don't show it but I cringe inside every time someone calls me Kitten because that was his special name for me." JJ explained her story and paused briefly before continuing wanting to get it out before they could pepper her with questions, "When I was fourteen the silence grew too great to bear so I learned to do something that helped me survive, I ran, I ran and I didn't turn back. I went to the streets and did the only thing I knew how to do which at fourteen was a very unusual thing but it was to sleep with men. I survived through much hardship but I was eventually found and taken to Horizon because I was deemed unmanageable."

Derek reached out and hugged the now shaking JJ who had just been forced to confront with her past to people she had grown to trust. "It is alright, you know I know how it feels."

"I was at Horizon just over a year when I was forced to return home to take care of my step father who had had a heart attack. I dealt with it the best I could and I used to skills I had learned at Horizon to ignore his weakened bed ridden attempts to get a rise out of me. One day I found out that even though I had kept the code of silence and not told anyone not even anyone at Horizon that he had been doing the same with Jess for the two years since I left. I remember wanting to kill myself because I had failed as an older sister at protecting my sister. I remember looking at the kitchen counter and the cocktail of pills that my dad took but instead I reached for the phone and called the police, I ended it once and for all. My mother was still in denial but when threatened at losing Jess she confessed and let the Police take him away. Not too long after that I got her to return me to Horizon bust soon after that Jess ran unable to deal with life. One night against all odds Jess showed up at Horizon saying she had seen a sign that reminded her of Horizon so she abandoned the street life for the hope Horizon could give her."

"What about your name? I get that you changed it but you Birth certificate that is on record is an original that corresponds with your birthdate." Hotch asked, "I should know I checked when you were assigned to the team, even though we try not to profile each other on the team I like to know everything in your past so that I know how you will react to certain things with the exception of anything in a sealed juvenile record, but I didn't think it was anything more than a simple account of shop lifting which every kid does at some point."

"No my sealed records are a bit more intense but that isn't the point, what happened is that I was born Jennifer Shelby however I was named for my paternal grandmother and when my father walked out of our lives my mom changed my name and called me Shelby Jennifer and then when she married Walt she had me adopted so I became Shelby Merrik. When I turned eighteen I chose to change my name back to my birth name. And when I did so I found that I could reclaim my original birth certificate because it had been unaltered and they had issued me a new one when my name had been changed because my mom elected to have everything about my dad erased from my life."

Rossi reeled himself back in, "well that is quite an interesting tale to your life."

"I have just never liked talking about my past because it is hard to break the habit that comes with ten years of silence." JJ replied

"Well with that aside and with you in town do you think you could help us with this case so that we can put it to bed and let you enjoy your vacation?" Hotch asked

"I will see what kind of help I can be however I don't know exactly what has been going on." JJ announced

"Emily did you find anything else out after you called me last night?" Hotch asked

"Nothing definite however Daisy did talk about the murders and she mentioned that what little they knew sounded like a David who had been kicked out of the school within two months of being admitted to the program." Prentiss described

"Wait, she thought of David in relation to the murders?" JJ asked

"Yes but yesterday we eliminated anyone who didn't have at least six months at the school because the Sheriff said that in order to have the skill level to hike the terrain…." Reid started to explain

"Doesn't matter, David did have a life time of training his father was this big military buff and had tried Military school to get his son in line. David came to the school with all the skills needed to make it in the woods, part of the reason he didn't succeed there." JJ looked at the bored and cringed at the profile of the latest victim, "find David and I feel you might have found the unsub, did you already have a profile released?"

"We gave the Sheriff a profile last night however, the Sheriff had no idea what to do with it as it is just him and his two guys and they are way behind the times up here."

"Curtis is sort of a strange one although he is a good guy and he knows how to make it up here in this rough terrain, but frankly Agnes has never had much of a crime rating. Scott broke into a house his first day at Horizon and some gangsters left Auggie a message on a wall and that is pretty much the extent of the crime in this town, Curtis usually ends up dealing with more search and rescues than anything else." JJ announced to the team, "Do you want to hear an official description of him or my Shelby I had to live with him and my boyfriend had to be tied to him overnight on a buddy hike description?"

"What the heck give us the Shelby version," Prentiss said smiling at her friend

"David was a creep, a freak, sexually demented, psychotic, drugged up psychopath who loved to fantasize over all the girls at school and make us completely uncomfortable." JJ said touching on everything that she remembered from her brief time with the Unsub.

"Oddly enough it actually sounds sort of like our profile without using all our clinical and politically correct information." Morgan said whistling

"Now if you don't mind, I am going to get in my car and go back to Horizon before they start to wonder if I sold them out." JJ sighed as she stood up, "When you catch him all of you come on up and we can initiate the rest of you to the Horizon family."

Reid groaned and fell backward while Prentiss shook her head and announced, "You can count me out, we didn't even do much but cleaning all the bathrooms as well as Kitchen duty for both Dinner and Breakfast was enough to wear me out for one lifetime. I think Reid had enough of chopping wood as well."

JJ laughed, "Horizon isn't that bad and I think you would enjoy joining us for a few hours of fun."


	8. Chapter 8

The Walls Rebuild

Hotch climbed out of the SUV that they had borrowed from the Sheriff and looked around at the administrative building before looking at Rossi.

Morgan, Reid and Prentiss climbed out of the back. Morgan then pressured the other two to lead them into the building.

Before they could make it to the doors Scott and Shelby walked around the corner of the building and just grinned at the two of them before throwing at them a set of climbing harnesses

"You are late, we were all just going to climb the ropes course, and you might want to get suited up."

Reid looked at Prentiss who took the harnesses and passed them around before following the two former students to the ropes course that was a hike into the woods.

When they got there Scott was hooking Shelby in who raced up the rope and across the elements while Peter shook his head. "When she was a student I could hardly get her to climb to the top of the ladder, the FBI has been good for her evidently in overcoming the demons that hid in her closet; she just never realized it before this week."

"So you are all FBI?" Auggie eyed them, "Well I guess that is cool with me."

Ezra looked at Peter, "Maybe she will let me tell you all…"

Shelby called down, "Don't think it Freaken!"

"Don't think what?" Ezra asked

"About telling how I was the one who actually climbed up the cliff and saved Gracie that day!" Shelby shook her head at the man below her.

Peter laughed, "I knew that years ago, Gracie told me a few days after that the Shadow girl rescued her."

"And you knew it had to have been me because of the Shadow assignment you had assigned me." Shelby sighed, "Why can't five year olds keep secrets?"

Peter called up to Shelby, "It's not that she couldn't keep a secret, it was that you were so rock hard that she couldn't help but cry out in pain at how you blocked her out after helping her."

Shelby came down and looked at the team but they realized in that moment she was the girl that had been known as Shelby she was not their equal. She was a broken hurt young girl who was just beginning to heal.

"I call on Hotch to climb next." Shelby smiled deviously as a bunch of the cliff hangers hooked Hotch into the ropes on the ropes course.

Reid couldn't help but laugh as Hotch mangled his way up the course thinking that chopping wood had been easy compared to this task.

"Reid stop laughing or you are next as soon as I get down from here!" Hotch howled out as he tangled himself up in a rope.

Scott laughed and hooked himself in so that he could free the agent from the ropes, "what do they teach you feds about, if you can't handle the easy ropes course, not to mention the harder one that is a little further up the trail?"

Prentiss looked at JJ, no she was Shelby at this time as she stood next to the rest of the cliff hangers and realized just how free she looked even though she was clearly still troubled. That is until Juliette wrapped an arm around her.

"Get off me Princess!" Shelby announced as she twisted out of the unwelcome embrace.

Hotch walked beside Peter as they surveyed the grounds of the school, "I am glad a place like this exists, I just wish more people knew about the work you do at schools like this. Maybe we would have a few less creeps that my team would have to chase if they got real help like this as kids."

"Well the help starts with what you can do. Maybe if lawyers and Judges knew more about Therapy schools they wouldn't be so desperate to send good kids to Juvenile detention centers. Look at how Auggie turned out, he came here and he got a chance to improve life for his family, if they had sent him to the detention centers he would be just another gangster like his brother."

Hotch laughed as he looked at Reid trying to teach Rossi and Morgan how to chop wood, "That is definitely something I never thought I would ever see."

"Yes, it seems like your young doctor spent a little too much time with the books and not enough time actually building character as a boy. I think this week ended up being good for him." Peter laughed

"You will take care of JJ, I mean Shelby for the rest of the week?" Hotch looked at Peter.

"She has always been in safe arms here, even when she doesn't run to me or Sophie I know she finds comfort in the loving arms of the bear statue." Peter sighed, "I found her several nights curled up in the arms of the bear asleep. I never had the heart to tell her that I knew her weak spots though because I girl like Shelby needs to announce them herself and not be pounced on."

"I will pass that on to the team so that they don't make her feel uncomfortable when she returns to the team." Hotch nodded, "I believe it is time we head back our plane will need to leave soon."

"Anytime you are in the area, you are welcome to come visit us here; I can always use role models for my students." Peter shook Hotch's hand before calling out as he turned away, "All former students report to the Lodge for a school wide group time!"

Reid stood by Garcia's door as she walked in the following Monday Morning, "Hey Garcia, when JJ comes in this morning she may seem different but Hotch said it is important that we don't pressure her about what is different."

Garcia looked at Reid and shrugged as if she thought he had a few screws loose.

JJ walked past carrying a thick case file, "Garcia and Reid briefing room in two minutes we have a case!"

Reid looked after JJ's retreating form and tilted his head, "Or maybe not!"

Rossi came up behind Reid, "When the rain wears down a stonewall it can still be repaired. We saw her walls crack open but now she has had time to repair them so that her life stays the normal that she has always known. It is now our job to accept her and show her that nothing has changed in how we view her."

JJ leaned around the corner, "This Unsub isn't going to stop by you all having a coffee break around Garcia's office!"


End file.
